Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition is now Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (“Amica Center” for short). Learn more about our new name at www.amicacenter.org    Since our founding in 1999, we have grown significantly and added new services to support immigrants in detention. Recently, CAIR Coalition has outgrown our name, expanding beyond our initial services and geographic boundaries.    “Amica” is the Latin word for “friend,” and that echoes the way we approach what we do. Just as friends stand with one another, Amica Center stands with our clients to achieve the safety, stability, and opportunity we all deserve. 

You can make a difference this fall. Apply now for Amica Center’s fall internships.     Deadline is next Friday, July 26th.    We invite all interns to apply to our scholarship program. Amica Center will distribute four $1,000 scholarships to eligible interns for educational and professional development.    Apply at https://lnkd.in/eXhSi_X5 

As conditions in ICE detention continue to deteriorate, ICE is trying to open new jails across the country.     Amica Center joined 221 organizations in demanding that the administration halt ICE’s immigration detention expansion efforts, restore free phone access to people in detention, and protect the basic rights of people in the agency’s custody.     Read the letter at https://bit.ly/lettertoICE  

Amica Center and 28 other immigrants’ rights organizations have submitted a petition to DHS and DOJ calling for more oversight of ICE’s “Alternative to Detention” (ATD) programs.     ATD programs allow ICE to surveil noncitizens as they move through their removal proceedings through technology such ankle monitors and GPS monitoring devices.     These programs often severely restrict a person’s body and movements and act as alternative forms of detention, not alternatives to detention.     ATD programs need increased immigration judge oversight to provide people with basic due process protections.     Learn more about the need for oversight of these programs at https://lnkd.in/en4nwXYH  

When the Southern Poverty Law Center laid off more than 70 of its workers and shut down its Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative last month, the immigrant rights movement in the Southeast was dealt a severe blow.     Amica Center Executive Director Michael Lukens makes the case for why funders need to invest in rebuilding the region’s legal services infrastructure to ensure immigrants aren’t left to fend for themselves in the latest op-ed for Prism.    Read it here https://lnkd.in/eAjRCgpK  

Are you a student who is passionate about defending immigrants’ rights and looking to make a difference this fall? Apply for an internship with Amica Center!    We invite all interns to apply to our scholarship program. Amica Center will distribute four $1,000 scholarships to eligible interns for educational and professional development.    Apply by Friday, July 26th at https://lnkd.in/eXhSi_X5  

Last week, the Executive Office for Immigration Review announced the launch of the Respondent Access Portal, an online platform that allows people unrepresented by legal counsel to access their immigration court records. However, the new system does not include immigrants held in detention. Read more at: https://bit.ly/eoirDARK Through the new system, tech-savvy people who are not subject to detention and who have email addresses will receive more improved access to their records. But, those who are detained and all those facing mental health, cognitive, language, and technology literacy challenges will continue to need the help of legal counsel to navigate the complex immigration court system. Amica Center will continue to fight for people who are pro se and detained to be able to access their legal records so everyone can have their due process rights protected.

Immigration attorneys nationwide have been witnessing a troubling trend in deportations. Some immigration judges are issuing deportation decisions without analyzing the specific facts of a person’s case and instead relying on boilerplate summaries of immigration law known as “form addenda” attached to a person’s decision.    In response to these concerning practices, Amica Center, with support from pro bono counsel O'Melveny & Myers LLP, published new resources for immigration attorneys and advocates for dealing with form addenda, including a practice advisory and Third and Fourth Circuit model briefings.     Access the resources and learn more at https://lnkd.in/euUR2FQa  

Listen to this recent podcast by Voz de América featuring a former client from Amica Center.

At Amica Center (formerly CAIR Coalition), we believe that no one should be jailed for their immigration status.     Detention is dehumanizing and separates families and communities during one of the most challenging times of their lives.     But as long as detention exists, everyone who is detained should have access to a lawyer, regardless of their ability to afford one. Amica Center is committed to making all efforts possible to expand access to counsel for our immigrant neighbors who are detained.    Read our full statement at https://lnkd.in/ehFcnsNw